Not a hoax obviously, but overhyped with fear, freak out, panic, etc. instead of allowing for discussion. We should and need to discuss, WITHOUT the political hype. Discussing it is not criticism of Trump, it is not fear or panic. Discuss for the sake of discussion.
The reason I believe it came from that lab is that China reacted so frantically to it. Were it one of the regular viruses that sweeps China from time to time it would likely have been pretty much ignored. Peking feared that it was much worse than it is turning out to be, even in China with the population’s really bad public hygiene.